Greatly enjoyed lunch with Muckie. We again went to the Crab Trap in Somers Point--love that restaurant and so did my mother--and caught up on each others' doings. I took a picture of Muckie there and another at her house, then zapped them on-line to Pat McH. R. Pat had sent me some of her and Rich which, unfortunately, didn't reach me until after I got home. I'll send them to Muckie today.
I'm having that PT Coronary Angiography procedure done this morning, so must get dressed. Will add to this later.
Four days to Boston.
Later: Just got back from Atlantic Imaging. The test wasn't bad at all. They injected dye, gave me a squirt of nitroglycerin in my mouth (to expand the capillaries), and put me in the machine. This is a big doughnut affair and you only go in as far as your neck so there's no problem with claustrophobia. Altogether, it took only 10 minutes or so, but there was a slight hitch: The technician stopped before the last images and ask if I were anxious. Surprised, I said, "no," but she said every time I was slid in (or under), my heart rate increased so she wasn't sure if the doctor would want them done over. However, I tried to consciously relax and the pictures were okay.
Met with Dr. Dowe afterward and the upshot is, I do have some plaque and he "definitely" thinks I should be on Lipitor. Okay, I give up, I'll take it after I talk to Dr. Keiner. Dr. D. also said he thinks I should take a stress test. In fact, the plaque I have doesn't seem to be terribly bad, the hard plaque, that is, but he pointed out some soft plaque, too, and that is something to be concerned about. Without trying to pin him down (impossible to do with doctors), I got the strong impression that my heart isn't in terribly bad shape, but there is reason for caution (and medication to break up the plaque).
Just talked to Betty. She's relieved at making the decision to have the resection and so am I. She'll call the surgeon's office to reschedule and may go in next week.
May all be well.